Door latching device



Oct. 15, 1935. O ERNST, 3 2,017,790

DOOR LATCHING .DEVI CE Filed Jan. 24, 1953 INVENTOR HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES DOOR LATCHING DEVICE Oliver H. Ernst, Sn, Billings, Mont.

Application January 24, 1933, Serial No. 653,336

' 2 Claims. (01. 292-169) This invention relates to certain novel improvements in door latching devices, and has for its principal object the provision of an improved construction of this character which will be high- 1y efficient in use and economical in manufacture.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved door latching device of the type which includes a slidable latch bolt. The invention contemplates particularly the provision of a novel rollback means and novel rollback dogging means associated therewith by means of which the latch bolt may be moved into, and held by the dogging means in, ineffective or unlatched position by manipulating either the cylinder lock on one side, or the hand knob on the other side of the door with which the latching device is associated. This construction enables a person who has one hand free to use in the door unlatching and opening operation, the other being occupied, for example, in carrying a bundle, to move the rollback means and latch bolt into latched position from the outside of the door, by manipulating the cylinder lock, or from the inside by manipulating the hand knob.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understod by reference to the accompanyng drawing, showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational view showing the door latching device applied;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same partly in section and partly in top plan;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line l4 in Fig. 3.

In the drawing, a door panel is indicated at It and a casement at l l, the latter having a slot I2 and a keeper plate l3 associated therewith for the reception of the outer end portion of the slidable latch bolt I4 that is mounted in the panel l0. Extending transversely through the door panel 10 is a squared shaft I5 having a hand knob it fast on one end thereof. Formed in the inner end of this shaft I5 is a threaded aperture ll into which is projected the threaded stem l8 of a second squared shaft l9 that is coaxially mounted with respect to the first-named shaft l5. Mounted on one end portion of shaft i9 is the cylinder lock 25 (Fig. 3).

Mounted on the shaft I5 is a rollback cam or finger 20 which works in an axially extending slot 2| that is formed in the latch bolt M. A

similar rollback cam or finger 22 is mounted on the shaft l9 and works in the axially extending slot 2i formed in the latch bolt I l. Each of the rollback cams or fingers 20 and 22 has a bearing portion 3i andv these bearing portions iii are journaled in flanges 32 formed on the latch bolt casing 24.

The latch bolt ii is urged into projected or latched position by means of a spring 23 arranged in the latch bolt casing 2 3. Formed in the latch bolt casing 26 is an axially extending slot 26 (Fig. 4)

Operation Assuming that the latch bolt I4 is in projected,

latched position (Fig. 2) and that it is desired to open the door it from the outer side thereof: The cylinder lock is then turned by means of the key 27 (counterclockwise, Fig. 4) causing theshaft i9 and rollback cam 22 to move (counterclockwise, Fig. 4), whereupon the cam 22 urges the latch bolt i i to the right (Fig. 4) compressing the spring 23, and eventually causing the outer end of the cam 22 to engage or abut the end 28 of slot 26 in casing 2%. At the same time that the end of the rollback cam 22 is in dogged engage- 25 ment with the end 28 of slot 26 it is also engaged (Fig. 4) with the portion 29 of bolt M and the latch bolt it and rollback cam 22 are thus held or dogged in retracted position. When the cylinder lock 25 is thus moved, the shaft i9 is ro- 30 tated relative to, and without causing motion of, the shaft E5 or rollback cam 26 since during this operation the threaded stem i8 of shaft i9 turns in the threaded aperture I? in the shaft I5. To allow for this movement of the two shafts E5 and I9 relative to each other a. little play, indicated at St, is allowed between the inner ends of the shafts i5 and 59 (Fig. 3).

When thus latched in retracted position the latch bolt l4 may be unlatched and returned to latched position by turning the key 2'! and cylinder lock 25 (clockwise, Fig. 4), thereby causing the rollback cam 22 to move (clockwise, Fig. 4) out of engagement with the dogging portion 28 of slot 26, whereupon the tensioned spring 23 will return the latch bolt It to latched position (Fig.

To open the door it from the inner side thereof the hand knob I6 is manipulated (counterclockwise, looking from left to right in Fig. 3) thereby causing the shaft I5 and rollback cam 20 to move (counterclockwise, Fig. 3) and causing the cam 20 to engage the latch bolt portion 29 to move the bolt 14 into retracted position.

At this time the 5 outer end of the cam 20, while still in engagement with the bolt portion 29, also is in dogging engagement with the end 28 of the slot 26 in the casing 24, thereby keeping the latch bolt in retracted position. To unlatch the bolt M from the inner side of the door the knob I6 and its shaft I5 and the cam 26 thereon are manipulated (clockwise, looking left to right in Fig. 3), thereby causing the outer end of cam 20 to move out of dogged engagement with the end 28 of slot 26, whereupon the tensioned spring 23 will return the latch bolt I4 to latched position.

It will thus be seen that the same one-handed operation that manipulates the key 21, cylinder lock 25, shaft I9, and rollback cam or finger 22 to move the latch bolt I 4 into unlatched position, also causes the rollback cam 22 to be dogged and held in unlatched position by dogging engagement of the outer end of the cam 22 with the wall 28 of slot 26 in casing 24; thus necessitating the use of only one hand to carry out both the rollback and the dogging operations. This is a departure from the usual type of door latching device in which the rollback and dogging operations are two distinct operations, the dogging operation being a second operation subsequent to the rollback operation.

The foregoing is also true of the one-handed operation of manipulating the handle I6, shaft I5 and dog 20 to manipulate the latch bolt Id into unlatched position since this operation not only rolls back the latch bolt I 4 but dogs or latches the same in unlatched position, from which it may be released by manipulating the handle I6 (clockwise, looking left to right, Fig. 3).

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I 5 claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a latch bolt, of a housing for the latch bolt, said housing having an opening and two spaced flanges, said flanges hav- 0 ing aligned openings, a pair of rollbacks positioned between said flanges, each rollback having one trunnion rotatably positioned within one of said openings, said rollbacks being arranged in juxtaposed relation each having an opening aligning 15 with the opening in the other rollback, a first operating shaft anchored in the opening in one of said rollbacks, a second operating shaft anchored in the opening in the other rollback, and a connecting element between the anchored ends of the 20 shaft so constructed and arranged as to permit independent rotation of either shaft and its associated rollback.

2. A device of the type described comprising a latch bolt having an opening, a tubular housing 25 for said latch bolt and having an opening aligning with the opening in the latch bolt, a spring positioned within said housing and having one end abutting the housing and the other end abutting one end of the latch bolt, a door handle, a roll- 30.

back operatively connected with said door handle and projecting through the openingin said housing and having its end positioned within the opening in said latch bolt, to retract the latter against the tension of said spring, said rollback having a por- 35 tion arranged to Wedge against a portion of the tubular housing for frictionally holding the rollback in a shifted position.

OLIVER H. ERNST, SR. 40 

